Bodies on Everest

[jreckoning]

There is really nothing you can do at that altitude. It's not like they can carry him down. When you are that high, you have to take like 3 breaths of air for every step you take. It's extremely steep and your mind is all messed up from lack of oxygen. There is an unwritten rule when climbing in the death zone that everyone is on their own. You don't risk your life to save anyone because you will die. What's the point of two people dying? I know it sounds harsh but these guys know what they are getting into and know how serious it is.

Yep. It's basically like asking someone to hold their breath for 5 minutes underwater while being attacked by a shark.

[Weebler I]

Would any of you have the balls to tackle Everest?

I'd love to do it, but you can go blind up there (literally)...just like that. I've heard of others having long-term health complications when they return. It's just not worth the risk.

http://news.stv.tv/highlands-islands...r-going-blind/

That story of the guy sat dying in the cave while 40 climbers went past and did nothing, I realize this might seem an ignorant question but surely those people could have helped him? Personally I'd feel more of a personal achievement from saving someone's life than getting to the top of a mountain knowing I past a dying person on the way up and did nothing.

What if your own life is on the line?

I've heard it described as like walking underwater while breathing through a straw.

[-jose-]

I wonder if seeing the bodies discourages some of the fools that had no chance from continuing.

first name that came to mind Chester Copperfield

[Manos_de_Piedra]

Yep. It's basically like asking someone to hold their breath for 5 minutes underwater while being attacked by a shark.

haha, good analogy...

[Drunken Cat]

Wow, I didn't know about this. That was a really fascinating read.

And no, I wouldn't do it.

[Drunken Cat]

That story of the guy sat dying in the cave while 40 climbers went past and did nothing, I realize this might seem an ignorant question but surely those people could have helped him? Personally I'd feel more of a personal achievement from saving someone's life than getting to the top of a mountain knowing I past a dying person on the way up and did nothing.

If you read through the comments, there are some interesting posts among the volumes of gibberish and flaming.

The best one I've read is the following. Basically, there is no way to save a person up there. If they can't leave on their own strength, they aren't leaving period.

Sarah7 December 2010 09:21

Well I'm a chick and I'm not dumb. I trekked to Everest Basecamp last October and it was the most amazing experience of my life. I won't climb the mountain though...which brings me to my point...
ANY PERSON WITH MONEY can climb Everest no matter WHAT their experience!! That mountain is LITTERED with people that SHOULD NOT be there.
I don't want to disrespect the late David Sharp but he was climbing ALONE AFTER THE TURN AROUND TIME. Thats irresponsible. Or he was experiencing high altitude sickness and not thinking.
Non-climbers do NOT UNDERSTAND the ethics and morals of high-altitude mountaineering. You can't just pick up a person and drag them down the tallest mountain in the world--you're "functioning" at an altitude where the body is deteriorating by the minute. Other climbers put their own lives in danger.
I know a Sherpa from Russell Brice's team tried to help Sharp down, but he wouldn't get up. At that high altitude, a person has to operate on some of their OWN power to get down. Too many Sherpas die up there saving people and fixing the ropes for teams that go to climb Everest.
Here is the deal: irresponsible climbers put others at risk. You HAVE to know the risks involved in climbing EVEREST...you can die very easily. Also...it is VERY difficult to bring a body down at the altitude Sharp was at. That's carrying literal dead weight down from the death zone.
Read INTO THIN AIR. Krakouer will never do a climb like that again due to the horror he endured on that mountain. But that's the reality of high-altitude mountaineering. You HAVE to educate yourself and KNOW what's involved.
This is a sad, tragic situation. My heart goes out to the family of David. But mountaineering is a deadly sport.
I don't judge the climbers that had to leave him, because they had to save themselves. It was not about summiting or not summiting...it was life and death. Plain and simple.

[Drunken Cat]

And just as I post that, I come across this counterpoint (the first legitimate counterpoint I've read in the comments).

I don't know the answer, but like everything there is surely nuance. However, we also don't know about who the climbers were and what their level was. It is probably quite likely that they would've been unable to do something. Highly experienced climber/rescuers would perhaps be able to help in such a situation. It seems like this isn't the description of the average person climbing Everest these days.

Juan ‘Juanito’ Oiarzabal holds the world record in 8000ers summits (21 in total) and has experienced many rescues on very high altitude. He told ExplorersWeb about Everest, “That mountain turned into a circus years ago, and it's getting worse – I don’t have the slightest interest in going back there, ever. Moreover, I actually try to avoid reading on what’s going on there – I simply don’t care anymore.” And about David Sharp, “It’s a classic [on Everest] - someone is in trouble, and people pass by, not even taking a quick look at him.”

[Drunken Cat]

Another from the comments:

Everest Climber7 December 2010 16:07

I was one of the 40 who sat next to David. He was already at peace.

BTW, we can only carry ourselves and our gear up and down the mountain. There is no chance rescuing anyone else. We don't carry stretchers, even if we did, we don't have enough room to carry him down. Everest is not a park. One misstep and you drag the whole team down. Don't be foolish.

[Drunken Cat]

One more thing, the guy was clearly dying already. It sounds like he'd been there all night.

[Drunken Cat]

Another comment:

RickRussellTX8 December 2010 02:32

@Sarah "It was not about summiting or not summiting"

Yes, it was. I don't know if you've read accounts of that situation, but if you had you'd know that they had a party of 18 -- plenty of rope, poles, ladders, people and equipment to wrap up one man and build a stretcher for 800 vertical feet descent to base camp.

Inglis himself admits that they saw Sharp on the way up and knew he was alive. He also claims that he radioed base camp and they told him Sharp was done for and they should move on.

Russell Brice, manning the radio, recorded no such call and instead says he would have told them to rescue Sharp, and was horrified when they told him that they saw Sharp alive on the way up.

The Sherpas in question were only allowed to assist Sharp on the way down, 20 hours later when Sharp was barely alive and it really was too late.

Inglis later backed out on his claim that he got radio orders to move forward and attributed his memory of calling base camp to "hypoxia".

Edmund Hillary called Inglis and his party "pathetic".

These guys weren't delivering needed medicine to orphans, or rushing to the scene of a fire. They were engaging in a sport for pleasure. I'm not saying that recovering Sharp would have been without risk. Perhaps it would have been more risky than making the summit and passing Sharp on the way down. But accepting calculated risk is what makes people into heroes.

Several people have mentioned that Sharp knew the risks, and took the risks. I agree with this, and it may reflect poorly on Sharp, god rest his soul etc. But the men who climbed past him chose to define their own character with their own actions. Sharp didn't bring shame on them; they embraced their own disgrace.